Madison senior Nick Montgomery(right) takes on Evan Morgan of Elder as part of the Ohio High School Athletic Association's state division I wrestling tournament on Thursday, February, 28th, 2013. Montogmery won the match at the Valu City Arena in Columbus.(Photo By Joe Maiorana/ImpactActionPhotos.com)

Kirtland sophmore Evan Francis(top) takes on Zac Tupps of Galion as part of the Ohio High School Athletic Association's state division III wrestling tournament on Thursday, February, 28th, 2013, at the Valu City Arena in Columbus.(Photo By Tony Coles/ImpactActionPhotos.com)

In the days leading up to the state tournament, Riverside's Evan Rosborough was feeling a little under the weather.

Not his usual self on Thursday, the district champion at 220 pounds needed overtime to beat fourth-seeded Nathan Martin of Vandalia Butler in the opening round, 2-0.

In a scoreless tie late in the third period, Rosborough held on for dear life as Martin nearly escaped for the winning point. Rosborough was able to summon enough strength to keep Martin down and continue the match.

"I spent Monday and Tuesday this week puking," Rosborough said. "I'm still getting over it a little. I could make 100 different excuses, but the bottom line is I didn't wrestle well. This tournament is only about advancing to the next round, and I got the win I needed."

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Rosborough, a contender for a Division I state title, almost saw his championship hopes dashed in the first match. He rolled through sectionals and districts winning by eight points or more every time.

"It's extremely intense to watch that happen," Riverside coach Scott Blank said. "You see these kids who have put themselves in a good position, and you see everything flash in front of your eyes. We can't look back, though. He started off flat, but he's always gotten better with every match."

Nick Boggs (132) also won his first-round match, beating Westerville North's Nick Durieux, 7-0. Jake Denman (160) lost his first two matches and was eliminated from the tournament.

Madison's Nick Montgomery, who has hopes of a championship at 138 pounds, took care of business with an opening-round victory. After an evenly matched first period, Montgomery pinned Cincinnati Moeller's Evan Morgan in the second.

"It was a little awkward. I don't know what it was, but I didn't feel right," Montgomery said. "I felt a little stronger (after the first period), so I was able to muscle my way out of it. There are no more matches after this (weekend), so I have to keep my head on straight and wrestle hard."

North's Kenny Hoberney started with a win, pinning Cincinnati Elder's Sam Williams with 4 seconds left in the final period.

Mentor's Colin Kramer (113) lost to three-time placer Aaron Assad of Brecksville to start the day and was sent home with a 4-0 loss Loveland's Brandon Tucker.

"It was tough, really tough," Kramer said. "Especially in the second match, there was a lot going on. There were a lot of different moves I could have made, but I feel like I wrestled to my potential."

Division III

Kirtland's Evan Brettrager (195) was the only local Division III wrestler to win his first match, defeating Archbold's Travis Jaramillo, 9-7.

Teammate Evan Francis (126) lost in overtime to Galion's Zac Tupps -- he got a takedown with 3 seconds left in the third period to force the extra period -- but won his second match to stay alive in the consolation bracket. He beat Waterford's Austin Lang, 4-1.

"I started very sloppy," Francis said. "I tried not to think about (being eliminated). It can be a big burden on you. If you don't even think about it, you wrestle better because there's less pressure on you."

Hawken's Seth King (152) was pinned by defending 145-pound champion Jordan Marshall but came back to beat Paint Valley freshman Teagan McFadden, 4-2.

"I knew (McFadden) was young, and he started to panic a little toward the end," King said. "I was excited about my first matchup, but after I lost I knew I couldn't come back and lose to a freshman. I didn't want it to end that way here."